A red-lettered fundraiser

Bingo for a cause: Winning numbers boost Austin non-profit at Houston garageparty

Bingo was front and center at Jane's Sixth Annual Bingo Bash
Photo by David Bley
from left, Kevin Begnaud and Nancy Ginzel are winners
Photo by David Bley
The lucky number
Photo by David Bley
Michael Mithoff, from left, Beth Moore, Jess Moore, Melissa Mithoff
Photo by David Bley
Ginni Mithoff, left, Richard Mithoff play bingo with friends
Photo by David Bley
Allen Hill calls the numbers out
Photo by David Bley
Courtney Hopson and Katherine Boone Phelps
Photo by David Bley
Kevin Begnaud concentrates
Photo by David Bley

The Austin-based non-profit Jane's Due Process has hit upon a fundraiser that's a lot of fun. Spell it B-I-N-G-O!

Every November, guests gather in the garage of Richard and Ginni Mithoff's River Oaks home for an evening of Tex-Mex cuisine, drinks and several rousing sets of bingo. (The open-air garage, larger than a two-bedroom apartment, takes up the basement floor of the couple's ultra-modern home.)

For the Sixth Annual Jane's Bingo Bash Friday night, a crowd of around 150 came ready to play. Bingo master Allen Hill called out the numbers for games of blackout (participants must fill in all the spaces on the bingo card), six pack (the first one to fill in two rows of three numbers that looks like the top of a six-pack of beer wins), and the 'Mithoff M' (the winner makes the letter M by filling in all five B's and O's, one I and G, with the free space as the point of the M).

Competition was fierce, with winners vying for such prizes as brunch at RDG, dinner at Armandos, gift certificates to the store Events, Fleming's and Sloan/Hall, and Houston Rockets tickets.

Among the avid players: Co-hosts Melissa and Michael Mithoff, Donna and Igor Alexander, Neal Hamil, Courtney Hopson, Katherine Boone Phelps, Leigh Williams, Nancy Ginzel, Sally and Bill Russ, Karen and Zeke Ziliak, Dave Riddle and Kevin Begnaud, and Gabriel Clark.

Beth and Jess Moore and Monsour Taghdisi also dropped by to offer support and encouragement to the bingo crowd.

The Mithoff's daughter, Caroline, who helms the organization that ensures legal representation for pregnant minors in Texas, is usually on hand for the festivities. But she had to miss the fundraiser because she had a baby two weeks ago and remained in Austin with her newborn.

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BOOTS & BALLET

Houston Ballet kicks off 2026 season with Texas-themed fundraising dinner

Photo by Michelle Watson, CatchLight Group

Honorees Hugh and Carroll Ray and Opening Night Onstage Dinner chairs Kris and Richard McGee.

This year, ballet aficionados swapped formal attire for cowboy boots, hats, and fringe as they filled the Wortham Theater Center for Houston Ballet's 2026-27 season opener, a triple bill including George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante, Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow, and the revival of Stanton Welch’s Pecos Bill. The Western-inspired looks were a nod to the highly anticipated production, which brought a fun Texas twist to the ballet's annual onstage dinner.

The evening began with Michele Leal, the City of Houston’s director of the Office of Arts, reading a proclamation from Mayor John Whitmire naming September 11, 2026, Houston Ballet Day. The celebratory moment was followed by a pause for silence in remembrance of those lost on 9/11, before the orchestra launched into a spirited rendition of the national anthem.

The crowd gave a hats-off ovation to Kris and Richard McGee, who chaired the event, which raised more than $320,000 for the Houston Ballet. Co-artistic director Julie Kent honored Carroll and Ray Hugh for more than 40 years of generosity and for helping to inspire and sustain an appreciation for dance in Houston.

Immediately after the performance, the curtains rose to welcome dinner guests to the opening-night onstage dinner. Completely transformed by Bergner and Johnson Design, the space drew inspiration from Pecos Bill and Texas's natural landscape. Tablescapes included denim, taupe linens, and red gingham napkins set off by centerpieces featuring a colorful bounty of flowers.

Guests kicked off their Texas-themed meal, prepared by City Kitchen, with a seasonal salad, followed by a main course of beef short rib served with Yukon Gold potato mash, oven-roasted okra, and buttermilk biscuits. Dessert was a classic chocolate pecan tart paired with vanilla bean gelato.

Boot-wearing VIPs included Kris and Richard McGee; Carroll and Hugh Ray; Sonja Kostich; Julie Kent; Stanton Welch AM; Chad Libertus; Stephanie Tsuru; Melza and Ted Barr; C.C. Conner and David Groover; Jo Furr; Margaret Alkek Williams; David Wuthrich; Bill Stubbs and Kurt Grether; Rose Cullen; Leigh and Reggie Smith; Ileana and Michael Treviño; Shawn Stephens and Jim Jordan; Margaret Cox; Deborah Keyser and James Stafford; Allison and Troy Thacker; Jay Jones and Terry Wayne Jones; Jennifer and Chris Laporte; Leigh and Chris Joseph; Michele Leal; Angie Matula; Akemi Saitoh; Marguerite Swartz; Jerry Ann Woodfin-Costa; Mignon and Steve Gill; Susan and Gary Binney; Christine and Paul Sofka; Sharon Roark; Leslie Alston; Michael Zenker; Michelle Iversen Jeffery; Timothy Wampler; Beth Muecke; Rochelle and Andrew Deiso; Kent Schaffer; Sasha Davis and Geoffrey Oshman; Kevin Potter; Jean and Henry May; Helen and Jim Shaffer; Rini and Edward Ziegler; Erin Patak and Alejandro Aballay; Mitchell George and Stanley Curtis, Jr.

Photo by Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group

Honorees Hugh and Carroll Ray and Opening Night Onstage Dinner chairs Kris and Richard McGee.

harper watters pecos bill houston performance houston ballet fundraisers